Under the Knife
by Pachow
Summary: There were certain people Fire Lord Zuko would expect to want to kill him. Mai was not one of them. [Maiko]
1. Prologue

**A/N: It has been a while since I have even read Avatar fics but I miss my Zuko and Mai. Since the last Maiko fic I wrote was on the fluffy side, this is more on the dark side. This set in the future where both Azula and Ozai have been killed and Ty Lee and the Gaang are off somewhere. . . . They might come in later on. This chapter is very short because it is the prologue. This fic will also be on the shorter side, probably only seven-ish chapters, depending on how much muse I have for it. Anyway, enough rambling!**

Reviews are love and keep me from getting horrible writer's block.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar. Psh. If I did, the third season would have STARTED already. The title of the fic is the title of a song by Rise Against.

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Ever since he had become the Fire Lord, Zuko had had dreams of being murdered.

It always started with him sitting in his throne, books of military strategies sitting on his lap. He would not able to concentrate, his mind wandering off to places that he preferred it would not wander to, images of his sister clouding his mind. It would be amazingly silent in the throne room, the only sound the soft crackling of the flames that surrounded his throne.

That was until there were these soft, almost child-like footsteps that echoed through the throne room. But, he'd always be too caught up in the military strategies to actually hear the footsteps.

"Zuko," someone would whisper into his ear, her, it was always a woman, lips grazing the soft flesh of his earlobe, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "Who are you?" he'd mutter. He always knew that he should summon his guards at this point, but for some reason he never did.

And he always regretted it as he felt the cool steel of a blade against his neck. "Move or try to summon your guards and I will slit your throat," she would whisper. But, no matter what he did, whether he tried to fight her off or if he just sat there as stiff as a board, he would still feel his warm blood drip down his neck and then he could feel his world become blurry and he would gasp for air, struggling to stay alive. He'd brushes his fingers across his throat and feel warm liquid and he'd realize that he was truly dying.

Within moments his world would go black.

And during his struggle to live, the woman would laugh and laugh and laugh and then during his last seconds of life, those soft lips would brush his ear once more and they would whisper, "This is what you get, Zuko.".

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Fire Lord Zuko woke with a start, his fingers gripping at his neck as he sat up in bed, panting and sweaty. He ran his fingers his neck over and over again, making sure that what had happened was just a dream.

He snapped. causing a flame to appear above his thumb. The young ruler looked around his room, using the light from his thumb, checking to see if anyone was there, as he did every single night after one of these horrid dreams.

Like always, there seemed to be no one there.

The Fire Lord sighed, relieved beyond belief. He blew the flame out and laid back down, still reeling from that horrible, horrible dream. He wiped sweat from his brow, his breathing still heavy. He placed his left hand over his bare chest, amazed at how fast his heart was beating. A Fire Lord should not be frightened by frivolous things such as nightmares, he heard his father's voice scold inside his head. Ever since he became Fire Lord, his father's voice was always informing him what he was doing wrong, since he could not very well scold him outside of his mind. Azula made sure of that.

Zuko took a deep breathe and rested his head on his pillow once more, struggling to convince himself that it was all just a dream.

And just as sleep began to come to the young ruler, something, actually someone pulled him back into the real world.

"Having trouble sleeping, Zuko?" a horribly calm, apathetic voice taunted. At first, he just thought it was that horrible dream. That was, until he felt the cold, very real, metal of a blade against his neck and very real hand over his mouth.


	2. One

**A/N: Meh. This one is kinda short. I promise that my chapters will be longer in the future. I was watching Harry Potter when I wrote this chapter so I was kind of distracted. EEEEE. ORDER OF THE PHOENIX IN TWO DAYS. Erm. . . . Sorry about that. I am done being a dork. Also, I am afraid updates might occasionally take a while because I am still trying to figure out the plot and stuff. **

**Oh! Much love to dins, daydream11, and skittlesandcombos for reviewing. Makes me all fluffy inside. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar.**

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Mai knew she should just slit his throat right then and there.

The handle of the kunai gripped tightly in her sweaty palm, she knew that she should be able to kill him, after all that had happened, but for some reason her wrist refused to make that simple, right to left motion. She hesitated. The kunai rested on his throat as she struggled to make her hand move. Was this what she really wanted?

It was then that Zuko realized that the assassin seemed to have frozen up, the kunai still held mere centimeters away from his throat yet she still hadn't done anything.

_Here's my chance. _

He took a deep breath and blew it out, spewing fire out of his mouth. The assassin screamed and pulled her hand away from his mouth, the once soft, cream colored skin now a horrid red. For some reason, that scream seemed so familiar to Zuko. As he pulled away from the woman and turned to face her, he laid eyes on someone he never thought he would see again, especially under these circumstances.

"Mai?"

Mai pictured this moment many times. In one version, she would kill him, only to regret it seconds later and kill herself, just so she could be with the one she loved so dearly. In another version, she would kill him without remorse and then somehow takeover the Fire Nation and rule how Princess Azula would have wanted the Fire Nation to be ruled. She tended to like that version best since it did not involve any of the feelings she _used_ to have for Zuko. In the more pitiful, hopeless romantic version, Zuko would forget that only seconds before she had tried to kill him and would pull her close to him and mutter sweet nothings in her ear about how he missed her and how he had always loved her. That would always be followed by a long, passionate kiss and a marriage proposal.

She hated that version yet it was the one that seemed to pop into her mind most often.

She frowned and pushed such thoughts out of her mind, like she always did when she pictured that version of the day she would meet Zuko again. She could not think about kissing and marrying the man who just seconds ago she had had the intention of killing.

Feelings involving Zuko were always too confusing, especially when she could not decide whether to kiss him or kill him. So, she dealt with the current batch in the only way she knew how. Wearing that apathetic frown of hers, she looked him in the eye, took a step toward him. . . . . .

And launched a Ty Lee-worthy punch straight into his head, knocking him out.

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For a brief moment, Zuko thought he was dead. Being dead would explain many things; the darkness, the inability to wake up, the cold feeling that seemed to fill every inch of his body. It was probably Mai that did him in as he stood in front of her, dumbfounded. It was probably a quick, painless death due to Mai's precision with knives. He could not remember being in pain, anyway.

Just as he began to come to terms with being dead, he suddenly felt a horrible, icy feeling come over him, wetness and uncomfortableness replacing that horrid cold feeling that had come over him.

It was then that he realized that he was alive.

The young ruler's eyes immediately popped open and he was about to get up on his feet. To his displeasure, he couldn't. He frowned. Instead of being dead, he was bound to a cold, metal chair with awful metal chains. A growl escaped his lips as he began to struggle to get free by doing everything he could to think of: squirming about, issuing heat and flames through his hands, cursing the awful chair with every foul word he could remember.

None of it worked.

But, he did not give up. Often Ozai would say, 'If there is anything good to be said about that stupid boy, it is that he is so stubborn.'.

"Serves you right."

Mai emerged from the darkness just as Zuko began to resort to hitting his head against the back of the chair. She grimaced in pain as she made her way toward him, her hand still throbbing from when she had hesitated. The Fire Nation woman sighed and took her mind off of the pain. She knew she deserved it for hesitating. No use beating herself or Zuko up over it. She had other, better, reasons to beat him up.

He glared at her with amber eyes filled with rage. Part of her was hurt by how angry he was at her. The other half of her didn't care. Like always, she listened to the part of her that didn't care and ignored that part of her that did.

"Where have you taken me?" he snarled, glancing around at their surroundings as best he could when he was chained to a metal chair. What surrounded him did not give much of a clue to where he was since what surrounded him was total and complete darkness, the only light being a lantern that hung above his head.

She laughed in response. But, it was not a normal laugh. Rather than filled with happiness or glee, it was completely devoid of anytime of emotion. In fact, it was a bit creepy. Zuko winced, looking at the young woman as if she was insane.

_What happened to you, Mai? _

"Don't you recognize this place? It is the main dungeon of the palace. It is where the Fire Nation holds all of their truly horrid prisoners. It is also where you sent Princess Azula." she said, walking toward him. Zuko grimaced at the mention of his sister's name and looked away from his capturer.

She smirked, obviously very pleased with the affect she had on him with those words. Yet, her soft golden eyes remained as emotionless and dead as ever.

"Why did you take me here?"

Mai was taken aback by this question. Her smirk immediately dropped, replaced with her normal frown. She really did not know why she had taken him down here. She still did not know why she hadn't killed him. The young woman turned around, considering just walking out and not answering his question. It would certainly make life much easier for her. Suddenly, a perfectly good answer came to mind; an answer that made sense and would not make her think about why she had not killed Zuko already. "So I can make you pay for what you did," she stated, grinning.

Much like when she smirked, her happiness did not meet her eyes.

Before he could ask her what he did or why he needed to pay for it, she turned on her heel and stormed off to a corner of the dungeon where it was much, much darker. Zuko wondered how she could possibly see. He also wondered how Mai, kindhearted yet constantly bored Mai, could ever want to kill him or drag him down to the dungeon.

But, then again, Azula's death had caused everyone to change.


	3. Two : Flashback

**A/N: I know it took me forever and a half to post a new chapter but I kinda lost my inspiration. / But, it came back again when the new season started! Yay. Anyhoo, much love to everyone who reviewed. This chapter is kinda disturbing, I guess, but not that bad. I know this chapter also might be a bit on the boring side but it is supposed to be a filler chapter so everything else makes sense. **

**Remember. . . . . reviews are love and all that jazz. **

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Fire Lord Zuko stood off to the side as the guards set up the guillotine. He watched them, his face contorted with a mix of anger, pride, worry, and even a bit of sadness. He had never been one who had been able to disguise his emotions; it was not the way of the Royal Family, a very temperamental bunch who let people know when they were displeased.

At the moment, the ruler's thoughts dwelled on his family. Every single one of them was gone now. His mother had left him when he was young, his uncle executed only days after they returned to the Fire Nation, his father killed by his own daughter when she decided he was no longer a useful pawn, and his sister, she had never been an actual sister to him. She fed off of his pain and suffering. She celebrated his failures and relentlessly teased him. He should have been overjoyed that this day had come.

Yet he felt unhappy, sad, even, on this very day.

Zuko frowned. Such thoughts should not have clouded his mind on the day of one of his greatest triumphs. For the first time, he was the one who was on top, not Azula.

"Your Majesty, shall we bring the prisoner out?" a nearby, guard asked, pulling Zuko out of his thoughts. He nodded, struggling to clear his mind of all regretful thoughts involving the fate of his sister. The guard turned around and walked out of the sunny courtyard and down the hall.

The Fire Lord scanned the area for any spectators. He had specified for this to be a private execution. Azula seemed to have more supporters than he did nowadays and allowing them to come to witness her demise was just asking for a riot. He scowled at the thought of the screaming, angry mobs that surrounded the palace at that very moment.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the praticularly empty courtyard. Zuko looked up to find himself looking the former princess in the eye. At first, the old feeling of anger and anxiety that filled him whenever Azula was present befell him. But as he gazed at her, the feeling of triumph replaced it.

Azula was no longer the spitfire she used to be. Her hair was matted and seem to resemble dark colored hay. Her skin had taken a sickly white tint and was covered by burns and scars. The princess's bones jutted out grotesquely, obviously from not eating for many days on end.

But, despite all of her injuries and the fact she was walking to her death, she was smirking. Her eyes were still that bright gold hue that frequented his nightmares. He sucked in a breath. He felt that old fear begin to seep in as he thought of what could go wrong. She could escape! She could kill him! She could be founded innocent the very second before her pale neck was placed on the wooden chopping black. That old paranoia had crept into his thoughts once more and he had the sudden urge to run away. His hands clenched in a fist, he struggled to stand his ground.

"Scared, Zuzu?" she sneered, her voice full of that horrible mocking tone that he had grown so very accustomed to over the years.

He scowled at her and tried to convince himself to stand his ground. _I am the Fire Lord. I am better than her. She is the loser here, not me. I will win, _he thought over and over again.

"No."

The former princess giggled, totally unfazed by the fact the guards were bringing her closer and closer to her doom. She walked as if she was strolling through the palace grounds, at a leisurely pace. Zuko scowled as he noticed his sister's mannerisms. Even when she was walking to her death, she still managed irritate him with the slightest of gestures.

"That's funny because I know you very well, Zuko, and to me it looks as if you are scared. Petrified, in fact. Face it, Zuko, you don't have the guts to kill me. You don't have the guts to kill anyone. You should just throw yourself off the highest tower of the palace. You would be a much better Fire Lord from down there anyway!" she spat, her eyes alight with amusement as she watched her brother convulse with rage.

She always did this to him. She knew him too well. She knew what his weak points were then poked and prodded at them until he felt as if he was really all those things that she called him. But, he would not let her do that to him this time. "You're wrong!" he yelled, seething with anger. Flames were raising from his hands and he could feel his breath begin to turn into fire as he panted.

Azula simply wore that awful, evil grin. She knew she was getting at him. "Oh, really, Zuzu? Because you don't have me, or the rest of the Fire Nation, convinced."

That was what did it. Zuko felt something snap within him. Maybe it was the fact that despite the fact he was obviously on top, Azula had the audacity to still insult him. Or maybe it was that even though he was obviously on top, he had the audacity to allow Azula to still insult him. Whatever it was, he felt a new, powerful feeling rise within him. A feeling that filled every inch of him, all the way down to his finger tips.

He felt some other force take over his body. Zuko raised his fingers and pointed toward Azula and felt this weird energy travel down his arm and suddenly rays of energy were leaving his body and then there was a blinding blue light that danced before his eyes and he felt powerful, so much more powerful than he ever had before. The sound of a woman screaming echoed throughout the courtyard as the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

But, for some reason, he could not stop. He began shooting lightning blot after lightning blot at his sister. The Fire Lord loved this new powerful feeling; it was like a drug to which he was already addicted to. He knew that the guards in the area were shocked by his actions but he honestly did not care. She was screaming even louder now and the smell of burning flesh was almost overbearing and the sane, not powerful crazed Zuko was screaming bloody murder, begging him to stop but he just kept going anyway.

And then she stopped screaming and an eerie silence fell over the courtyard. He stood over her burnt, lifeless body, that wonderful powerful feeling still clouding his mind like a high from a narcotic.

"Throw her body into the palace furnace," he stated before walking out of the courtyard, leaving the guards stunned and mortified. They all nodded though, for fear of the same fate to befall them.

It wasn't until he had walked down the hall and toward the palace that he had realized what had just happened.

He had just killed his sister, Princess Azula, whose shadow he had been forced to live in for so long.

But, for some real reason, as he relived the moment and remembered her horrible screams of pain and the look on her face as he delivered the final blow, it no longer felt so wonderful. Rather, an odd sad feeling began to fill him as he came to a stand still.

Zuko often dreamt about the moment he would kill Azula. In his dreams, he was always happy and triumphant after it all went down. But, at this very moment, he did not feel triumphant or happy. He felt empty.

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Mai had watched the whole entire thing.

Zuko had told her it was going to be a simple beheading, nothing extremely horrible or painful. He had reassured her that he would not go the way of his father, that he would not torture his prisoners. She clenched her fists, her finger nails digging into her soft palms. He had lied to her.

As her former best friend gave her final, ear piercing scream, Mai sucked in a breath, unable to believe what just happened. Blood dripped from her palms due to how hard she was pressing her nails into them but she did not care. For one moment, her love did not look like her love. He looked like his father. He had that scary look in his eyes that Mai had grown accustomed to seeing in Azula's eyes. She froze as she realized he was probably coming down the hall now. The future Fire Lady turned away so she did not have to look at him as he walked down the hall. The events that had occurred only moments before kept playing over and over again in her mind. The lightning, the smell, the screaming, the look on Zuko's face as he stood over his sister's corpse. She grimaced and shook her head as if that would rid herself of such memories.

"Mai? What are you doing here?" the Fire Lord asked her, his right eyebrow raised. He turned to where she was standing, behind one of the pilars that decorated the hall. She did not respond. She did not even look at him.

Silence echoed throughout the hall. Zuko tried again, a pleading look in his eyes. "Mai. . . ."

Mai shook her head, tears were filling her eyes as she finally regained feeling and movement. She looked at him, her eyes full of pure hatred and disgust. "I can't believe you," she whispered. She then turned on her heel and stalked down the hall, leaving Zuko.

"What do you mean?" he called after her, running to catch up with his betrothed. She let out a bitter laugh as she continued to speed down the hallways.

"You know exactly what I mean, Zuko!"

Tears were filling his eyes too as he realized what she was talking about. He was running now too and reached out to touch her shoulder. Normally, this gesture would send tingling down her spine but today it simply disgusted her and made her swat his hand away. He frowned but then caught her wrist, causing her to finally stop running.

"I had to do that, Mai," he whispered to her, that pleading look in his eyes once more. She shook her head for she knew it wasn't true. He also knew it wasn't true. He tightened his grip on her wrist, willing her not to pull away.

"Yeah, right. Zuko, I thought you were better than that. You are just like your father! No. . . You are actually worse than your father!" she spat. He released his vice grip on her wrist. Mai knew she had hit a nerve. But, it was not a satisfying nerve. Before he had a chance to respond, she stormed off, not even giving her love a second glance.

_Former love_, Mai corrected herself within her mind though she knew that wasn't true. No matter what Zuko did, she would always love him. Even if he turned into a ruthless, sadistic killer.


End file.
